Best Friends are for Life

When I was 4 years old, my grandmother took me in. My mother gave me to her. I was afraid at first. I wanted to go home to my mom. But weeks went by and I began to enjoy being fed and taken care of. My mother was not capable of taking proper care of me so I had never been truly cared for. My grandmother loved me and cared for me the way a mother does her child. I began to feel at home and decided that I didn't want to go back to my mother. So, I officially had a permanent home.
During my first few weeks, I became acquainted with my neighbor across the street. Her name was Jodie, and she was 5 years older than me. But Jodie was special. She was injured during birth so she was slower than average children. We quickly became best friends. It's important for you to understand Jodie and who she is in order to fully understand some of the stories that will be posted in this blog.
Jodie is now 35 years old (she was 9 when we met) and we are still best friends. She will always have the mind of a 12 year old and will never be able to live outside of her parent's care, but she's always been very special to me.
Jodie helped me to get through some tough times as a child. I could talk to her about anything and she would listen. She would always take my side no matter what. We were inseparable.
When I think back on my childhood, it's almost impossible to think of a memory that Jodie was not in. We did everything together. Up until I was married and moved out of my grandmother's house, we hung out daily. I would come home from school and we would hang out soon afterward. Of course I had to do my homework first and so did she. :) As I got older, I would come home from work and we would hang out. We went shopping together, attended every party together, shared secrets, spent loads of time on the trampoline, played video games, etc. I could go on and on about the things we did.
Her parents were worried as I grew older that I would outgrow Jodie. They were afraid of the pain Jodie would feel losing a friend she had her entire childhood. Thankfully, that was not the case. I am now 30 and we still communicate on a regular basis. We haven't seen each other in a long time as life has taken us separate routes, but we still talk on the phone and via facebook.
Jodie always has and always will be my best friend and one of my favorite parts of my childhood. Regardless of where life takes us, I will never lose contact with the one who helped me through so many painful moments of my life.